DANgerous Kalamar 4

Kalamaran

To hear a Kalamaran speak of his people’s history, you would think that it was his idea to cultivate rice in the Alubelok Swamp, that he personally marched in formation against the Fhokki barbarians, and that he built Kolokar’s Barrier with a brick in his left hand and trowel in his right. Kalamarans are as proud as the sun is bright, and others lament that the Kalamaran can usually make good his boast.

Kalamarans construct their homes, equipment, and cities with grandeur. They exaggerate size and detail, covering massive lintels with brilliant frescoes, and placing them above colossal doorways. Kalamarans decorate everything, especially their weaponry and accoutrements: “Know a Basiran by his surcoat,” goes the saying, “and a Tokite by his shield.”

Among adventurers, Kalamarans prefer professions that allow them to experience as much as possible. They make brave fighters, dashing rogues and intrepid paladins. Except among Basirans, Kalamaran bards are rare, and barbarians are extremely rare, coming only from deep in the Alubelok Swamp or unruly Tarisato. Since Kalamar is the center for several powerful faiths, clerics are common as well, but druids come mostly from the Young Kingdoms or central Kalamar.

“Give a Kalamaran a weapon, and he will give you thanks. This is when you should run.”– Dwarven saying.

Kalamaran Language

The Kalamaran language can be separated into Ancient and Modern Kalamaran. Ancient Kalamaran is the language of the past: Rulakan, Fulakar and Lelana all spoke this language. Now, only a handful of sages who study the ancient tomes and historical works written in Ancient Kalamaran speak or read it. Modern Kalamaran is really two distinct, but similar languages: High and Low Kalamaran. Only the Kalamaran nobility use High Kalamaran; the rest of the populace speaks Low Kalamaran.

After centuries of foreign conquest and domination, Kalamaran has been influenced greatly by Dejy, Brandobian, Fhokki and non-human languages. Thus, there are countless dialects of Low Kalamaran spoken throughout the Empire and the Young Kingdoms. It is unlikely that an artisan in southern Kalamar would be able to understand an O’Paran laborer. The exact dialect spoken depends directly upon who settled the area before the Kalamaran conquest. For example, in Paru’Bor, O’Par and Dodera the people speak dialects of Kalamaran that have Dejy and Fhokki influence, but in Korak and Ek’Kasel there is a distinct Brandobian and even Hobgoblin influence.

Kalamaran uses the letters A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, Ka-, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, TH, U, V and W. B, G, K, L, P, R, S and T are the consonants used most frequently. Actual vowels or consonants are never found in pairs but are separated by apostrophes, which indicates a syllable delay when spoken, e.g., P’Bapar (puh-bah-par), Ka’Asa (kah-ah-suh). This also indicates to the reader (or listener) that the name or word probably originated in another region, e.g., a half-Kalamaran/half-Fhokki might be named Rosharek in the Wild Lands, but would be Ros’Harek if raised in the Empire.

In Kalamaran, the emphasis is on action. For this reason, verbs precede nouns, and adjectives and adverbs always follow the words they are describing. Verbs are short, typically one or two syllables, and nouns and adjectives are longer. Articles are usually only one or two letters long. Possessiveness is indicated by the prefix ka-; gender is defined by the suffix -i, -e or -u for male, female and neutral, respectively. Plurality is indicated by the suffix -l or -al. Mixed groups of males and females are always given feminine gender. The naming convention for towns and cities is as follows: villages and towns end with the suffixes -idu and -ido; cities end with the suffix -eta, and capital cities are preceded by the word Bet.

Noble Kalamarans always use two names. Freemen have picked up the custom as well, with two names being more prevalent in thickly populated areas. Serfs and rural Kalamarans need only one name, and they are unlikely to adopt surnames in the near future.

The nobles surnames identify their family, which name, in turn, identifies their fief (the house of Eramis rules the Duchy of Eramis, for example), their castle, and the founder of the family. When a fief bears a different name than the ruler, it is sure evidence that the fief has changed hands since its original grant by the Emperor. Freefolk will most often take a name related to their occupation, but they might alternatively take a name related to their home village or a noble under whom they work. Repetition of names is not uncommon, and similar names are very common. The Kalamarans favor naming children after famous heroes and the same name often reappears in large families several times.